Scott Brown
As Mr T would say, I pity the fool who can’t see how good a player Scott Brown is.
After a first season in which his “disappointing” form was greatly exaggerated, Brown is now beginning to flourish in the Celtic first team with the promise of many greater things to come.
Scientists tell us that perpetual motion is impossible to attain but then again Brown only needs to keep moving for 90 minutes at a time to turn all that kinetic energy into electric attacking football. In saying so, you’ll have noticed how I avoided the cliché of “midfield dynamo” (dammit, there I go).
But there are those who think that any player who constantly runs and makes dozens of tackles must be a defensive player or one who “snuffs out” opponents. Brown does all that but his movement and speed make him virtually impossible to mark at times while his quickness of thought and delivery concentrates attacks in areas that the opposition are ill-prepared to defend.
It was those attacking instincts that first impressed me about Brown when he was a talented but raw laddie at Hibs. In those days, he wasn’t so much full-blooded in the tackle as a screaming banshee, but from the collision wreckage of two bodies, it always seemed to be Brown who rose first – and in the same motion, he invariably sought to create an attack.
A season-and-a-half into his Celtic career, he is choosing his challenges more carefully, and is a much more controlled footballer. He still has all that aggression – and sport’s most intimidating stare since Marvin Hagler – but he is no longer easily goaded into being diverted from his game and articulating his frustration in the pages of the referee’s notebook.
Instead, his spinning, jinking runs make him the perfect target for team-mates but in a team that struggles to play one-touch football, Brown is rarely given sufficient credit for the number of times he diverts the ball with one flick while maintaining his runs.
Perhaps more importantly, on Saturday Brown played his best game against Rangers. In footballing terms, that might not account for very much but in terms of his ability to put his stamp on a match in a hostile environment under extreme pressure, his performance answered many questions.
It was by no means a perfect showing – he did play some loose passes – but Saturday was the first time that Brown has shown that he can tame a midfield in those circumstances. His confidence can only grow and there is a sense that a special match against the team chosen by his former Hibs colleague Kevin Thomson is just around the corner – perhaps in February.
It is no surprise that clubs in England have been interested since he signed for Celtic. £9 million is the amount most recently quoted but it would be hugely disappointing if Celtic accepted a bid. Even if the money was reinvested in the team, it is difficult to imagine where a player in his style, of comparable quality would be found. If there are any of those players who aren’t already at top clubs, I have yet to see them.
For a player who has been around the Scottish game for so long, it is sometimes forgotten that he is still only 23 and probably at least two years short of his peak. The fact that Brown is contracted to the club until he is 27 makes him an excellent candidate to build a midfield around.
Predicting the future is a dangerous game – after all he might trip over a stone and break his ankle – but amongst some very good contenders, not least Gary Caldwell and Scott McDonald, Scott Brown looks like the man to lead the charge to title number 4. All challengers are welcome.
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